Transposing device for player pianos



R. NELDNER.

TRANsPoslNG DEvxcE Fon-PLAYER PIANos. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 0.

1,408,824. Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

QM@ /V j PATENT FFCE.

ROMAN NELDNER, OF MILXVAUKEE, VJISCONSN.

TRANSPOSING DEVICE FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mal'. '7, 1922.

Application filed March 29, 1920. Serial No. 3G9,S25.

To all iii/0712, 'it mf/,y/ concern:

Be it known that I, ROMAN Nnnnivni`7 a citizen of the United States, and resident ot iwlilwaukee`r in the county oi' illilivaukee and State of lllisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in llransposinggV Devices for Player Pianos; and l do hereby declare that the following` is a full7 clear, and exact description thereof'.

My invention relates to certain nevv and useful improvements in pneumatic player pianos, or the like and refers more particularly to means for transposingthe key ot a roll being` played.

Former devices or' this character necessitated the shifting of the tracker bar to change the relation ot its ports with respect to the perforations et the music roll but While this method served to transpose the key1 still it has proven more or less objectionable in that the shifting oit the tracker liar throws the expression port out of line with the expression slot ot the roll and hence renders the expression controlling mechanism inoperative.

rIhus the present invention has for its primary object to provide means for 'transposing the key of a music roll Without chang'- ing` the relation of the expression port with the expression slot of the music roll.

A more specific object ot my invention is to provide means for visually indicating the key in which a music roll is being played.

lVith the above and other` objects in view which Will appear as the description pro- (feeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement oif parts, substantially as hereinafter den scribed, .and more particularly defined by the appended claim, it bel .Cf understood that such changes in the precise embodiment thereof may be made as come Within the scope of the claim ln the accompanying drawing l have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to the best mode l have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof. and in which:

Figure l is front plan view of the roll compartment of a pneumatic player equipped with my invention, and

Figure 2 is a sectional vieiv taken vertically -through the music roll compartment on the line 2 2 of Figure l.

Referring] noiv more particularly to the accompanying drawing', l represents a box or casing forming the music roll compartment and having disposed in its upper part a pair of stub shafts 2 and 3 adapted to joui-nelly mount a roller 4 having' Wound thereeround a perforated music roll 5, .lournaiiy mounted in the lower portion of the music roll compartment .is an operating drum Which has its shait 7 journaled in the Walls. of the compartment and intermediate roller l and drum (i is rigidly mounted a tracker lbar 8 having perforations therein adapted for engagement with the perforations of the music roll 5. The drum 6 and roller -t are operated by any desired means which engage stub shaft 3 :ind the correspondingy end of shaft 1 and as this constitutes no important feature oi the present invention, the same has not been shown in the accompanyingx drawing.

As best shown in Figure 2 each port oi tracker bar 8 has leading` therefrom a duct S) which is coupled with an operating pneu maticn not shown. and intermediately disposed across the ducts 9 in a slide valve coniprisingr an inner section l0 havinga series oi" ports therein and leading "from the ports are tubes l0 adapted to receive the inner ends of that portion ot ducts 9 leading Yfrom the ports of tracker bar 8, and an outer section il having ports therein similar to section UL and leading' from the ports of section l1 are tubes 11 adapted to receive the inner ends of that portion of ducts 9 connected with the pneumatics.

The sections l() and il are each provided with a like central raised portion, the adjacent V faces oi which are held in air tight enga gement, and the peripheral edges o'l section il are directed laterally as at l2 tor sli, gg: engagement in a guide slot formed by the peripheral edges lf3 oi: section i0` each et Ywhich is directed. laterallyq and then tolded upon itself. Thus by this construction an :i i r tight slide valve is provided, and for operating the same from the front of the player an operating rod le is journaled in bearings l5 mounted in the roll compartment, and the rear end of rod le projects rearwardly of' the rear of casing l and has secured thereon a crank arm 16 which has its outer free end 17 hiiurcated te engage a stud 18 earried by the section 11, and the other end of rod 14 has secured thereon an knurled head 19 for operating the same. l

As will be obvious, upon rotating rod 14 in either direction, the ports oil1 sections 1() and 11 are changed with relation to each other and in this manner, the key of the roll being played is transposed as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which an invention of this character appertains, and for visually indicating the key in which the roll is being played, a plate 2O is carried by the outer bearing 15 and has thereon suitable indications with which a pointer 21 'formed on knurled head 19 registers.

From thc foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily seen that in transposing the key oi' a roll being played, the relation. of expression port 22 in bar 8 with its controlling slot or perforations 2Q in roll 5 will not be changed, as is the case in 'former devices of this character.

I claim In a player piano, a tracker board having ports therein adapted to fro-operate with a perforated music sheet, a bar having transverse openings therethrough which are in communication with the tracker board ports respectively, a second bar having transverse openings adapted to communicate with the primary pneuinatics and adapted to register' with the openings in the first narned bar, one of said bars being slidable with respect to the other to shift the openings therein rcspectively into registry with the next higher or next lower openings of the other har whereby to transpose the key of the piece being played, said bars being channel shaped and one fitting over the other, the outer bar having ianges extending outwardly from the sides of the channel and the inner bar l'iaying iianges 4extending outwardly and around the flanges on said outer bar' whereby to hold the bars closely together and prevent leakage ot air therebetween.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto set my hand at l\'Iilwaukec. in the county of Milwaukee, and State of lVisconsin,

ROMAN NELDNER. 

